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Xenozoic Tales
Category:Harvey Award [[Category:Topps Comics titles winners for Best Series Xenozoic Tales is an alternative comic book by Mark Schultz set in a post-apocalyptic future. Publication began in 1986 with the story "Xenozoic!" included in the comic anthology Death Rattle. This was shortly followed by Xenozoic Tales #1 in February 1987. The comic series ran for 14 issues, and has been reprinted by several publishers, including Kitchen Sink Press, Marvel, and Dark Horse. Environmental apocalypse and Cadillacs that run on dinosaur guano are fresh fodder for comic book creators in search of new readers."They're not satisfied just with Superman beating the heck out of a villain," said Greg Loescher, who publishes the Comics Buyers Guide, an industry newspaper. Mark Schultz's "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" depicts a world after an environmental catastrophe caused by depletion of the ozone layer. Dinosaurs have re-emerged, and one of the few surviving inventions of man are vintage Cadillacs. "They now have new engines that run on dinosaur guano," Schultz said. Publishers who want to attract older, better-educated readers are tackling social issues, according to those at a retailers' seminar staged by Diamond Comic Distributors. The series proved moderately successful, and under the title Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, the series spawned a cartoon series premiered on CBS, an arcade game from Capcom, a home video game from Rocket Science Games, action figures, trading cards, candy bars, and a Twilight 2000 system role-playing game. The comic book reprints from Kitchen Sink and Marvel also used the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs title. The title "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" and the likenesses of classic Cadillac automobiles were used with the consent of General Motors, who holds the phrase "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" as a trademark and has licensed it for the comic, the videogame and the animated series. ---- Reprints The original series has been collected multiple times. In 2003, Dark Horse Comics published Xeonozoic Tales Volume 1 on April 23, followed by Volume 2 on July 16, which collected all the stories by Mark Schultz. In November 2010, most of the series, apart from the stories drawn by Steve Stiles, was reprinted in one volume under the title Xenozoic (Flesk Publications, ISBN 978-1-933865-31-7). Flesk also released a limited edition hardcover of the book in 2013 after raising funds through Kickstarter. An Artists Edition from IDW Publishing was released in August 2013 and contains oversized reprints of the original art from issues 9 - 14 of the series. Cadillac riders escape dinosaurs. Artist: Mark Schultz. BUY DIGITAL COMICS: FOLLOW DARK HORSE COMICS: SHARE THIS PAGE: Bookmark and Share XENOZOIC TALES VOLUME 1 TPB Collecting award-winning cartoonist Mark Schultz's decade-long run of Xenozoic Tales in its entirety, Dark Horse Comics is proud to present this first volume of a two-volume set. Schultz's vision of the future includes ruined cities, guano-powered Cadillacs, warring factions of humanity, reborn dinosaurs, and their intelligent, humanoid descendants. The tough-as-nails shaman, Jack Tenrec, and the beautiful scientist, Hannah Dundee, yearn to uncover the origins and secrets of their violent world while dealing with their own rocky relationship. Xenozoic Tales became a major network cartoon as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, and the storytelling talents of Mark Schultz earned him three Harvey Awards as Best Cartoonist. In an age where mechanics are prized rarities and dinosaurs stalk bipedal prey, where all past ages mix with a weird, wild future, mankind's petty political squabbles and mistakes take a back seat to the untamable forces of nature. Once you let the profound creativity of Xenozoic Tales sink its teeth in you, you'll be screaming for more! Also includes a new cover and additional sketchbook material by Schultz. CREATORS Creators: Mark Schultz Editor: Philip Simon Designer: Lia Ribacchi Cover Artist: Mark Schultz Genre: Science-Fiction, Action/Adventure Publication Date: April 30, 2003 BUY DIGITAL COMICS: FOLLOW DARK HORSE COMICS: SHARE THIS PAGE: Bookmark and Share XENOZOIC TALES VOLUME 2 TPB Dark Horse Comics is proud to present the second volume of Mark Schultz's award-winning Xenozoic Tales. Schultz's vision of our Earth's future includes guano-powered Cadillacs, warring factions of humanity battling for ruined cities, reborn dinosaurs, and their intelligent, humanoid descendants. The tough-as-nails shaman, Jack Tenrec, and the beautiful scientist, Hannah Dundee, seek to uncover the origins and secrets of their violent world while dealing with their own rocky relationship. Xenozoic Tales became a major network cartoon as "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs", and the storytelling talents of Mark Schultz earned him three Harvey Awards as Best Cartoonist. Schultz recently finished writing a critically-acclaimed run on Superman and is writing the upcoming Superman/Batman vs. Aliens/Predator series. Once you let the profound creativity of Xenozoic Tales sink its teeth in you, you'll be screaming for more! Featured in this volume are the grippings tales "Primeval," "Last Link in the Chain," and "The Growing Pool." Also, for the first time ever, Xenozoic Tales #13 and #14 are collected in book form. This volume has a new cover and additional sketchbook material by Schultz. CREATORS Creators: Mark Schultz Cover Artist: Mark Schultz Genre: Science-Fiction, Action/Adventure ---- CADILLACS AND DINOSAURS (aka XENOZOIC TALES) '' ' Medium: Comic books Published by: Kitchen Sink Press Creator: Mark Schultz First appeared: 1986 Xenozoic Tales (a.k.a. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs) by Mark Schultz (1986 onward) I have bad news: The world ended 11 years ago. It’s just that no one has told you yet. That, at least, is the history of the world according to the comic book series Xenozoic Tales. First published in 1986, it postulated that by the then-future year of 1996, a cataclysmic series of geologic upheavals would begin to change the surface of the earth. Things get so bad that by 2020 the planet is no longer habitable and most of the human race is extinguished, along with the rest of life. A few groups of humans, scattered here and there, retreat to underground bunkers in a desperate attempt to survive. When they emerge 500 years later, instead of finding a wasteland, they find a lush ecosystem where every species that has ever walked the planet has been resurrected, from trilobites to mammoths. Also, there’s a second moon. A new geologic era has begun – the Xenozoic Age. Xenozoic Tales is better known by its nickname, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, and there are plenty of both throughout its pages. Mark Schultz published 14 issues of the comic before he stopped, mid-story, in 1996. Don’t let that turn you off though. Even half-finished, Xenozoic Tales remains the best dinosaur comic ever published, and in my view, one of the best adventure comics ever to appear. The series owes a lot to the adventure comics of the 1940s and 1950s, and in early issues Schultz is clearly trying to imitate their art style. (EC Comics is often cited as his source of inspiration.) Set on the transmogrified east coast of North America, the story centers around Jack “Cadillac” Tenric, who is an odd cross between an auto mechanic and a forest ranger. Tenric uses his skills to rebuild 20th century machinery – particularly Cadillacs – and to protect the surrounding wildlife from the predations of human poachers. Not much is known about the cataclysm that changed the world other than it was brought about by humanity’s mistreatment of the environment, and Tenric’s job is to make sure his “tribe” doesn’t repeat those past mistakes. Trouble comes in the form of the beautiful Hannah Dundee, an ambassador from the neighboring city-state of Wassoon. The dangerous environment of the Xenozoic Age makes communication between the surviving remnants of humanity difficult, and while she is welcomed, the leaders of Tenrec’s tribe are suspicious about Dundee’s motives. Tenric and Dundee have a rocky relationship, with Tenric a little too hotheaded for his own good and Dundee too secretive about her real mission among his people, but there is sexual tension between the two from the start. Together they explore the Xenozoic’s mysteries: What exactly caused the cataclysm? How did the strange ecosystem come to be? And who are the Grith? Xenozoic Tales is a black-and-white comic that shows in the world of comics, color can be overrated. Schultz’s art style evolves over the series’ 14 issues, starting from simple-but-promising drawings in the first few issues to a fully organic and exquisitely detailed style by the last issues. His dinosaurs also evolve over the course of the comic. Science-literate readers will likely be disappointed with the tail-dragging saurians appearing in the first issues, but they will notice that in later issues his dinosaurs catch up to modern thinking, yet retain a Charles R. Knight-vibe at the same time. Steve Stiles supplies the art for the short stories appearing at the end of each issue that flesh out the invented world, but his own style is rather clunky compared to Schultz’s work. The stories themselves are well-told, with better-than-average characterization and plenty of action. My main complaint with the series is that it ends mid-story, with no resolution to the mysteries it raises. Schultz hasn’t indicated when – or even if – he plans to finish what he started. Don’t let that stop you. If you see this comic, get it. Sadly, it can be hard to find. Dark Horse Comics published the entire series in two volumes a few years ago, but they quickly sold out and now the individual volumes rarely sell for less than $70 each. Cross your fingers and hope that someday Dark Horse decides reprint the comic. '''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs may refer to: *''Xenozoic Tales, a comic book also known as ''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs *''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs'' (TV series), a 1993 animated television series *''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs'' (arcade game), a 1993 arcade game *''Cadillacs and Dinosaurs: The Second Cataclysm, a 1994 console and computer game Xenozoic Tales (1987) Search for 'Xenozoic Tales' on eBay Publisher: Kitchen Sink Press Publication Date: February 1987 - October 1996 Country: United States Language: English Awards: 1989 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards - Nominee - Best Black-and-White Series ---- Notes: Original Kitchen Sink Issues None entered. Number of issues cataloged: 24 Issue Title Story Arc Cover Date 14 Another Swarm-Genre:science fiction,Characters:Jack Tenrec; Hannah Dundee; Wrench Terhune Synopsis:Xenozoicum: a bleak future where dinosaurs roam the Earth once more. The poacher Wrench Terhune learns of the impending arrival of an ambassador from the Wassoon tribe. Fearing that the ambassador is out to get him and his gang for the crimes they committed there, Terhune decides to assassinate the ambassador. Rumours about the plot reach Jack "Cadillac" Tenrec, who races against time to find and stop Terhune. The ambassador is a woman, Hannah Dundee, and she decides to stay for a while in the city. October 1996 13 Dangerous Grounds December 1994 12 Two Cities April 1992 11 Primeval April 1991 10 Lords of the Earth April 1990 9 Last Link In the Chain September 1989 8 In the Dreamtime... January 1989 7 The Growing Pool October 1988 6 Foundling May 1988 5 Excursion February 1988 4 History Lesson November 1987 3 Benefactor June 1987 2 Rogue April 1987 1 An Archipelago of Stone February 1987 TPB vol. 03 Time in Overdrive 1993 TPB vol. 02 Dinosaur Shaman October 1990 TPB vol. 01 Cadillacs and Dinosaurs July 1989 TPB Xenozoic November 2010 HC vol. 03 Time in Overdrive 1993 HC vol. 02 Dinosaur Shaman 1990 DH TPB vol. 02 The New World May 2003 DH TPB vol. 01 After the End April 2003 The Opportunists(Table of Contents) Xenozoic Tales / comic story / 9 pages (report information) Script: Mark Schultz Pencils: Mark Schultz Inks: Mark Schultz Colors: Michael Newhall Letters: Denise Prowell Genre:science fictionCharacters:Hannah Dundee; Remfro Rynchus; NockSynopsis:Xenozoicum: a bleak future where dinosaurs roam the Earth once more. Hannah Dundee, the ambassador from the Wassoon tribe, meets Remfro Rynchus, who is very interested in the flying lizards called Zekes. Hannah helps Remfro to establish a Zeke colony on top of a deserted skyscraper. Governor Nock is furious, until he realizes that the reason Hannah did this was to enable the Zekes to warn the fishing boats about approaching predators. Publication Dates: February 1987 - October 1996 Number of Issues Published: 14 (#1 - #14) Color: Color covers; Black and white Interiors Dimensions: Standard Modern Age US Paper Stock: White paper interior; glossy cover Binding: Saddle-stitched Publishing Format: Was ongoing Series Keywords: Dinosaurs; fantasy; retro Series Details: Cover Gallery Details by Issue Series Timeline Publisher's Brands: Kitchen Sink Comix (18 issues) Indicia Publishers: Kitchen Sink Press, Inc. (18 issues) Notes Began as a short story in Death Rattle (Kitchen Sink Press, 1985 series) #8 (December 1986). There was a second print of #1-3, all January 1989; with second print of #6 also thought to exist. There has been a brief second series, as: Xenozoic Tales (Dark Horse, 2003 series) This title was the source for the Saturday morning cartoon, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs and has been reprinted as Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (various publishers) & Xenozoic (Flesk Publications, 2010 Series). Artist/creator Mark Schultz has been the subject of several retrospectives. The Opportunists(Table of Contents) Xenozoic Tales / comic story / 9 pages (report information) Script: Mark Schultz Pencils: Mark Schultz Inks: Mark Schultz Letters: Denise Prowell Genre:science fiction Characters:Hannah Dundee; Remfro Rynchus; NockSynopsis:Hannah Dundee, the ambassador from the Wassoon tribe, meets Remfro Rynchus, who is very interested in the flying lizards called Zekes. Hannah helps Remfro to establish a Zeke colony on top of a deserted skyscraper. Governor Nock is furious, until he realizes that the reason Hannah did this was to enable the Zekes to warn the fishing boats about approaching predators. ---- ' Xenozoic Paperback ''' by Mark Schultz Series: Xenozoic Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Flesk Publications (November 1, 2010) "What strange new world, to have such creatures in it!” Forced into hiding by a global ecological cataclysm, humans emerge from their underground warrens half a millennium later to discover that the Earth has been totally transformed. All of the familiar flora and fauna are gone, replaced by a radically altered natural order populated by rampaging dinosaurs and strange, new creatures. It takes guts, grim determination, ingenuity and a whole lot of old-fashioned luck just to survive, much less thrive, in this alien wilderness-all qualities that ace mechanic Jack Tenrec, lovely scientist Hannah Dundee and their friends possess in abundance. But even the worthiest of these hardy souls are hard-pressed to surmount the obstacles presented by their new homeland. And when those trials are further compounded by the underhanded and selfish actions of the cutthroat human scavengers they encounter, even the best equipped and bravest among them might not endure. Xenozoic combines lush and richly realized ink-and-brush artwork with a pulp-fueled narrative to create an action-packed fantasy-an unrelenting adventure that also serves as a subtle cautionary fable concerning the unforeseen consequences that shortsighted present-day decisions might have upon future generations. The reproduction of the art is the best the series has ever received. The story as it stands is as complete as is possible, that is to to say ALL the material consisting of the main story are here in one volume. There were shorter supporting tales with artwork provided by Steve Stiles that are not here but that does not detract from the main story in the least. The price is right and the package is beautiful. Xenozoic is a timely tale that is so right for this point in time: it's the story of a man at odds with most people as he tries to do what's right- regain our place in the world slowly and respectfully, always mindful that the cataclysm that occurred centuries before, putting mankind on the brink of utter extinction was caused by human arrogance. After the near extinction event the humans return to the surface of the planet after a long time in the underground. The world has changed dramatically and the few surviving humans encounter a world with all of it's ages rolled into one, where dinosaurs, woolly mammoths and horses all exist side by side. And this is no utopian dream but an utter mad house with life that has managed to achieve a balance, albeit often a dangerous balance. Most of those who follow Jack Tenrec may not appreciate his zeal but do appreciate his message because they know first-hand that the human race is still precariously perched. Trivia Xenozoic Tales, under the Cadillacs and Dinosaurs name, has enjoyed a good amount of marketing success. It was turned into a short-lived – and, unfortunately, a dumbed-down – Saturday morning cartoon; a fun beat-‘em-up arcade game; and a Sega CD full-motion video game. (You can watch a video of the open titles for the cartoon here; and the promotional video for the CD game here.) Topps released a short-lived series of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs comics in 1994 that were a tie-in with the TV show. These are not the original comics. A short biography of Mark Schultz is available here. Many toons are based on what Hollywood calls "high concept" — an expression of 25 words or less that gives you a good idea of what the series is all about. "Little boy doesn't speak in words, but only in sound effects (Gerald McBoing-Boing). "A couple of guys are so sickeningly polite, they fall all over each other and can't get a darned thing done (Alphonse & Gaston). "Man has extraordinary powers and uses them to help people, having exciting adventures as he does" (Superman and any number of his super-heroic imitators). In one respect, at least, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs is a good example. In fact, it's pretty much a title-tells-all situation. It's about Cadillacs and dinosaurs, and that's it. But how creator Mark Schultz got both Cadillacs and dinosaurs into the same series isn't the sort of thing that can be explained in 25 words or less. The series takes place several hundred years in the future, after a mostly-undescribed ecological upheaval resulted in the resurgence of many formerly-extinct species, especially large and exciting ones such as dinosaurs. How did extinct species come back to life? Hard to say — but it should be noted that it's at least consistent with some pre-Darwin theories attempting to explain fossils, which hypothesized grand life cycles affecting world-wide ecology over millions of years. Whatever. It had dinosaurs. And Cadillacs. Handsome, strong, adventurous Jack Tenrec, adept in the ancient art of automobile mechanics, was the hero. Technology had generally been set back by the upheaval, but bits and pieces of it survived here and there, including the fleet in Jack's large garage, which leaned heavily toward Jack's own favorite model — those big ol' mid-20th century Cadillacs, which he acquired and restored with alacrity. Oil wasn't being refined anymore, but he was able to modify them to run on dinosaur guano. "You get used to the smell," he observed, which can also be said of gasoline. Romance potential was provided by Hannah Dundee, who came to Jack's locale ostensibly on a diplomatic mission, to persuade Jack to stop chasing criminals into his neighbors' territory. She also had an educational mission, to teach farming methods. Her third mission wasn't publicly known — it was to raid the carefully preserved local library for any knowledge she could get out of it. She and Jack had a complicated relationship where they were sometimes allies and sometimes at odds. If you saw it on TV, you'd expect them to be an "item" by about the third or fourth season. Cartoonist Schultz introduced the scenario in a 12-page comic book story titled "Xenozoic!", which appeared in the eighth issue (December, 1986) of Death Rattle, an anthology of non-series science fiction, fantasy and horror. The word "xenozoic" is constructed like the names of geological eras such as paleozoic ("old life") and mesozoic ("middle life"). Parsing it out yields "strange life". The publisher was Kitchen Sink Press, which started in underground comix, publishing the likes of Skip Williamson's Snappy Sammy Smoot and Jay Lynch's Nard 'n' Pat, but by '86 had branched out into mainstream masterpieces like The Spirit and Steve Canyon. "Xenozoic" moved immediately into a regular series of its own. Xenozoic Tales #1 had a cover date of February, 1987. It didn't come out as often as most comic books from major publishers, because Schultz, a meticulous illustrator with a style heavily influenced by such EC Comics stars as Al Williamson (Flash Gordon) and Wallace Wood (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents), didn't churn out the stories on a rigid monthly schedule, and he chose to do the main story in each issue. (He did, however, let some of the back-page stories be drawn by Steve Stiles, whose work also appeared in Anarchy Comics and Commies from Mars.) Still, 14 issues came out between 1987 and '96, with a 3-D edition in 1992. The blurb "Cadillacs and dinosaurs", which was eventually to replace the title, was first seen on the cover of the second issue. The first Xenozoic trade paperback, which collected issues 1-4, plus the Death Rattle story, was published under the "Cadillacs & Dinosaurs" title. It came out in 1989 and remained in print for several years. In 1991-92, Marvel Comics' "Epic" imprint, which published creator-owned properties such as Groo the Wanderer, reprinted Xenozoic stories in a six-issue mini-series, again using the "Cadillacs & Dinosaurs" title. That was also the name of the video game, which came out in 1992. By that time, "Cadillacs & Dinosaurs" was more-or-less the title everywhere but in the original Kitchen Sink series. So when CBS aired 13 episodes of it in 1993, naturally it was titled Cadillacs & Dinosaurs. The series was produced by Nelvana Ltd. (Eek! the Cat, Beetlejuice), which was named after one of Canada's first superheroes. Jack's voice was done by David Keeley, who isn't known for other voice work; and Hannah's by Susan Roman, who is also heard in Care Bears and Robocop. The TV series was adapted back into comics by Topps, the bubble gum (and, consequently, card) manufacturer which also did comic books in the 1990s, adapting such properties as The Lone Ranger and Xena, Warrior Princess. In addition to some artwork by Schultz, this series contained the work of Roy Thomas (Infinity, Inc., Iron Fist), Dick Giordano (Friday Foster, Sarge Steel), Rich Buckler (Deathlock, Reagan's Raiders) and others. It lasted nine issues, February through November, 1994. Cadillacs & Dinosaurs is currently being kept in print, as graphic novels reprinting Schultz's old comic book work, by Dark Horse Comics (Usagi Yojimbo, American Splendor). Setting and characters In the storyline, the Earth has been ravaged by pollution and natural disasters of all sorts. To escape this, humanity built vast underground cities in which they lived for approximately 600 years. Upon emerging, the humans found that the world had been reclaimed by previously extinct lifeforms (most spectacularly, dinosaurs). In the new 'Xenozoic' era, technology is extremely limited and those with mechanical skills command a great deal of respect and influence. The two chief protagonists of the series are mechanic Jack Tenrec and scientist and love interest, Hannah Dundee. Tenrec operates a garage in which he restores cars, particularly Cadillacs. Given that the post-apocalyptic world no longer possesses the ability to refine oil, Tenrec modifies his cars to run on dinosaur guano. These cars, of course, are frequently chased by rampaging dinosaurs in pulp action-style adventure stories. Other characters include various criminals, politicians, scientists, and inventors who populate the dystopian world of tomorrow. There is also a race of reptilian humanoids who cannot speak in a human language but instead communicate by spelling words with Scrabble tiles. These creatures have befriended Tenrec, and apparently have the ability to communicate telepathically with the dinosaurs. Added into the mix is Hermes, an allosaurus Jack raised, and who basically acts as the most threatening guard dog one could ask for. Prehistoric Animals *Shivat - Tyrannosaurus Rex: The largest carnivore in the world, sticks to the higher regions. Mates for life. A mutated specimen possessed chameleonic abilities and an ultra tough hide. Genitals are highly prized on the black market. *Cutter - Allosaurus: A mid sized carnivore, relatively common. Hermes, Jack's half tame dinosaur, is a juvenile. *Mack - Triceratops / Styracosaurus: Easily startled herd animal. *Krenkel - Ceratosaurus: Mid sized carnivore whose roar sounds like a car horn. *Mammoth, Big Woolly, Tusker - Mammoth: Ill tempered elephant. Hannah tried to catch one, and in a rage it followed them back to Jack's garage, before being killed in a run-in with a mack herd. *Cave Bear: Large and mostly peaceful bear, dangerous if threatened. *Rockhopper - Unknown animal: Smallish carnivore, non-hostile unless provoked. *Wahonchuck - Stegosaurus. *Zeke - Pteranodon: Scavenger which is sensitive to underwater predators. A flock was drawn to the city to warn of attacks on fishing boats by Threshers. *Thresher - Mosasaur: Large sea hunter, possesses sonar. *Sambuck - Apatosaurus: Large sauropod, lives in herds and startles easily. *Harvestman, Cogspider - Giant Opilione: Lives deep underground in huge colonies. If exposed to pressure at sea level, it will slowly die. References External links * * [http://www.toonopedia.com/xenozoic.htm Cadillacs and Dinosaurs a.k.a. Xenozoic Tales] at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on April 13, 2012. * * Prehistoric Pulp: review of Xenozoic Tales aka Cadillacs and Dinosaurs ngle Issue or Story]] Category:Dinosaurs in comic books Category:Dark Horse Comics titles Category:Marvel Comics titles Category:Post-apocalyptic comics Category:1987 comic debuts Category:Cadillac Category:Topps Comics titles